Embry-Riddle soars in women's flight competition

Pilot Valdeta Mehanja and co-pilot Danielle Erlichman finished first in the collegiate competition and third overall in the 2013 Air Race Classic.

DEBORAH CIRCELLIEDUCATION WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — For the second year in a row, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students won the collegiate portion of one of the country's oldest and most prestigious all-female, four-day transcontinental flight competitions. Pilot Valdeta Mehanja and co-pilot Danielle Erlichman finished first in the collegiate competition and third overall in the 2013 Air Race Classic. The university's Prescott, Ariz., campus earned fifth place at the collegiate level and 12th overall. The Embry-Riddle teams competed against 45 other teams from around the world, including nearly a dozen other U.S. universities. Teams gathered on June 18 for the start of the race at Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Wash. The teams navigate and check into airports in nine cities on the more than 2,000-mile route, completing their journey at Drake Field Airport in Fayetteville, Ark., on June 21. Mehanja, 29, a senior from Kosovo, said placing first among the college teams was even more special because of the extra challenge of cloudy weather. She said the start was delayed and moved to Idaho and some racers had to withdraw. "It was such a challenging race. It was a huge thing just to make it to the finish line," she said. "We were just so grateful that we won first place (at the collegiate level) and third overall. It was a big deal." Mehanja is pursuing a bachelor's degree in aeronautical science and is an Embry-Riddle flight instructor. Erlichman, who is also a flight instructor, already has a bachelor's in aeronautical science and is pursuing a master's in aeronautics. Erlichman, 23, of Shrewsbury, Mass., also competed last year when the team placed first in the collegiate competition and second overall. "Overall, it was an amazing learning experience," she said. "This year the race was very challenging, but we worked hard and worked well as a team." The two, who flew one of the university's Cessna 172 aircraft, were selected by Embry-Riddle College of Aviation administrators on the basis of their piloting skills, their competitive spirit and their knowledge of aviation, safety, navigation, meteorology and crew resource management. The ERAU Daytona Beach team won $2,000 for the overall third-place finish and $100 and a trophy for the collegiate win, Mehanja said. The team's alternate pilots were students Waverly Giannotti and Kelsey Tenhoeve. The coach was Marisha Falk, a former Air Race Classic competitor who now drives the Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster. Embry-Riddle racers have participated in the Air Race Classic every year since 2007. The Air Race Classic is judged on various factors including piloting skills and decision-making. "It was fun all the time," Mehanja said, but the weather "made it more interesting, that's for sure."